Industry Pulse: Ocean freight rates tick up slowly after January surge

Dive Brief:

Ocean freight rates from China to both U.S. coasts rose slightly in February, according to data from the Freightos International Freight Index (FIFI).
Rates from China to the West Coast rose 3.69% from January to February, and from China to the East Coast increased 8.24%. But YoY rates were down significantly on both coasts.
Ocean freight rates rose sharply at the beginning of 2018, after a dip in rates at the end of last year.

Freight rates rise at slower rate after a surge in January.

FIFI / Port Data

Dive Insight:

The Chinese New Year sent ocean freight rates soaring in January 2018, but that surge began to slow throughout the month of February.

Rates are already cooling off so far in March. They dipped about 14% last week on routes from China to both coasts.

The higher rates seem to have dissuaded a few carriers, but certainly not all. At Los Angeles and Oakland, loaded volumes fell from January and February. But the Port of Long Beach bucked that trend on the West Coast, and saw its volumes grow 5% between the two months.

The port said last month was "a historic high in cargo volume for February," attributing the high volumes to carrier alliances and an increasingly global economy.

“A month like this is now the new normal,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said in a press release. “We’re very happy with our busy start to 2018.”